family/ home / childhood

• My heartbeat thick, my head grew hot


   - readers can identify with Jane and feel her distress, this distress manifests itself when Jane imagines her uncles ghost it can be seen as her being distressed over her isolation being disrupted. The theme of Jane as an isolated figure, becomes especially prominent in this chapter when she is isolated from the rest of the household in the red room. It is not the isolation which frightens her but the idea that someone would try to remedy this isolation.​
• "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent"- john reed to jane


  • john reinforces power imbalance in the household, jane is an outsider with no power, reinforcing janes marginalized position as an orphan foreshadowing he internal struggle for identity
  • the reeds deny jane of knowledge, culture and privilige, setting a boundary between reeds (high status) and jane (inferior)
  • "dependent" strips jane of individuality and reflects broader social and famillial hierarchy
• "Is this the first time you’ve left your parents to come to school, my little girl?" -miss temple to jane


  -ironic as jane was a discord at gateshead, she never had a true home

  -school is a normal transitional phase , but for jane its not jsut a chance at education but also an escape from the reeds abuse

  • "my little girl" suggests warmth affection and care, miss temple as a maternal figure
  • miss temples behavior contrasts the previous treatment of jane
  • miss temple unknowingly highlights jane isolation as an orphan as she has no parents to leave
• "My daughter, flee from tempation"


  • janes internal voice : god/ maternal figure?
  • Jane’s turning point—she chooses integrity over desire
  • voice helps Jane realise that a real “home” must be built on honesty, equality, and dignity. Staying with Rochester under false pretences would make her feel like a mistress, not a wife or equal: she protects her sense of self
  • “My daughter” echoes the kind of religious instruction Jane would’ve heard growing up—especially at Lowood School.
• "Let her stand half an hour longer on that stool, and let no one speak to her during the remainder of the day."- mr brocklehurst


  -physical and emotional isolation from other girls

  -This public shaming emphasizes the injustice and cruelty of authority figures in Jane’s life and mirrors her earlier experiences of rejection at Gateshead.

  • However, despite this intense moment of isolation, Jane shows resilience.